A Remus and Romulus Story
by Cabin3Demigod
Summary: When Remus finds a young wizard being beat up on the street, he saves the young lad. But who exactly is the boy? His son, his brother, his...cousin?  Read and I might do Another chapter if you review.
1. Don't Call Me 'Dad'

_She's going to kill me, _Remus thought as he walked down the street. _She is going to bloody take my intestines and use them as her personal chopsticks. She's gonna…she's…_

"Hey," he shouted at a group of young wizards. They were using dangerous spells on a boy no older than fifteen.

At the sight of Remus, the bullies scurried away. Remus caught a glimpse of one of their faces as they ran and recognized a wizard he'd taught only two months earlier.

The victim of the wizards' violence was sprawled out on the ground, breathing heavily. He'd obviously nearly been choked to death by the body bind hex. He raised his head hopefully as Remus walked over to him, but laid it down almost immediately when he saw the ex-professor's silhouette hover over him.

Remus held out his hand and the boy grabbed it hesitantly. "What's your name?"

"Rerewolf—ah. I mean, Romulus."

Romulus? No, it couldn't _be_…

He grabbed the teenager by his collar and hissed, "Do you know someone named Remus? A—brother perhaps?"

"N-No sir," the boy pleaded. "No one but you."

Remus let Romulus down and stared into his warm, blue eyes. His hair was disshelved and brown, and his lips twisted into an anxious smile as Remus looked him over. Remus spotted a book titled '_Beauty and the Beast_' in the spot where Romulus had been attacked.

"You like Muggle fiction, too?" Remus asked.

"I was only raised off it."

Remus grinned. "Fancy a butterbeer?"

**At The Three Broomsticks**

"So, what's your story?" Remus asked as Romulus gulped down his third butterbeer.

The young wizard wiped his mouth on his hand and frowned.

"Well, I'm fourteen years old. My Mum died when I was young, so my Uncle took me in. He sent me to Hogwarts when I was eleven, told me I had to become a man. I'm a fourth year, by the way." Romulus held out his hand and Remus gratefully took it.

Remus took a sip of his own butterbeer and asked, "Any idea why those kids were beating on you?"

"No reason," Romulus said bitterly. "Other than the fact that I'm scrawny, weak, and exceptionally smart. I used to have a brother. He looked out for me. He died in the middle of my second year, though. He was a fifth year when he—died."

"What was his name?" If there was one thing Remus dreaded, it was poignant tales. Remus bloody hated depressing stories.

"Ren," Romulus answered bluntly. "Ren. That was his name."

"Do you miss him?" Remus felt those damn tears coming, those dim-witted drops of liquid. His loathed tears.

"Most times. But most of all I miss my father. From what my Mum said, he was a great guy, even though he turned into a vicious monster once a month. A werewolf to be precise. He went to Hogwarts, too. Or so my mother said. Mum never really lied to me. My father was also bitten as a boy."

"Tragic," Remus said inattentively. Werewolf? Hogwarts? Boy?"

"I know. To get bloody bitten at the age of five because of something your dad did—."

"What did you say?" Remus was out of his seat now. "Who bit him? Your father."

"Greyback," Romulus said timidly.

Remus's breath caught in his throat. "And your mother, Romy. What was your _mother's _name?"

Romulus was standing now, too. "Eruda Biggs. She worked at…wait, Romy? That's what Mum said my dad called me. My dad, my…dad…You're my da—!"

Remus covered the boy's mouth so swiftly that Romulus flinched.

"Not here," Remus murmured, "Not here."

He dragged Romulus unceremoniously out of The Three Broomsticks.

"Hey," Romulus shouted. "Where are you taking me?"

Remus ignored him and instead asked, "Ever done side-along apparition?"

"N-no. But—"

Before Romulus could say anything else, he was sucked through the air and dropped in front of Remus's flat.

Remus tried to drag Romulus inside, but Romulus tugged back.

"Where are you taking me?"

"Home! You have to meet my…my friend. A very good friend."

Romulus sighed and followed his father inside.

Almost immediately, there was a loud crash and Tonks came into view a minute later.

She smiled at Remus and glanced questioningly at Romulus.

"Who's this?" she asked.

"Er—an, and old student of mine," Remus lied.

Tonks grinned and scurried into the kitchen.

Her joyous enthusiasm made Remus's heart hurt even more considering what he must do.

He heard her ask something that sounded like, "Does he fancy a cuppa?", but Remus didn't respond. He was lost in his thoughts.

He did, however, see Romulus nod and yell 'Yes!'

Remus smiled sadly. He was still staring in Tonks's direction when he felt a tug on his shoulder. He spun around. It was Romulus.

"Don't do it," Romulus whispered to his father. "Don't dad. Don't hurt her heart."

"How'd you know?"

Romulus shrugged. "You're my dad. It's normal."

Remus smiled smugly. "Never really thought of it like that, I guess. And about the 'dad'. Yeah, let's make that out little secret, okay?"

**A/N**

**If you want more, just say so.**

**I was thinking of writing a chapter about how Romulus messes up the Order's meeting place during his transformation and his father yells at him in front of the whole Order.**

**And yes, Romy is a werewolf, too.**


	2. Falling Apart

"Romy, would you fancy a cuppa?"

The voice snapped Romulus from his trance. Normally, being called Romy wouldn't faze Romulus. He'd been called the name for about a month now. However, something registered in Romulus' mind. His father was usually the one to refer to him as Romy. This time, he was sure he'd heard a female voice.

He glanced up at the ceiling, then out of the window. A large, black owl stood on the windowsill. Romulus was at his father's house. The voice must have been Tonks'. He began to answer, but heard footsteps. Tonks would be there any second.

Romulus quickly leapt out of bed and slipped into his trousers. He couldn't have his dad's girlfriend seeing him in his...almost barest. He winced as he bent to fetch his shirt. Why was he so weak?

Then the reality finally set in. It was the day after transformation. Romulus' bones were weak, but he knew he must have been doing better than his father. Somehow, Romulus knew that the older man had taken him to his room in his own weakened state. Romulus' father was older and more fragile, so naturally his transformations were worse. Whether Remus transported his son by wand or hand did not matter. Even a simple levitating spell took most of one's energy after a full moon. For this, Romulus felt gracious.

Disregarding his shirt, Romulus strolled to the mirror in the corner. It took only about three small steps. Romulus' room wasn't that big. In fact, it was Tonks' linen closet. It was fairly big for a linen closet, but with his bed, Romulus barely had any space to move around. Perhaps mini-basement was the term for it.

Romulus studied himself for a moment. He spotted a purple bruise here, a red one there. He carefully raised his fingers and traced a new scar on his palm. It stung, but he didn't pull away. Romulus had been through much more pain and turmoil in his life. Being so young, the pain was sometimes too plentiful. Romulus felt as if he was fourteen going on forty five.

He looked into the mirror and frowned. He could be strong. His father had been. Romulus took in a great breath and flexed his muscles. The ripping of his biceps didn't worry him as long as he tuned out the crunching noises.

There was a loud crack and Romulus' head spun around. It was Tonks. Her hair was maroon and short, her smile the most radiant. She giggled when she saw him and Romulus looked down. His zipper was still down, but surely she couldn't see that. It must be his...bird chest. Romulus hopped back clumsily and reached out for a white beater on the side of his bed. However, he tripped, landing on his bottom and making Tonks chuckle even louder. He grit his teeth. It wasn't just her. His butt cheeks seemed to be dislodged a bit from the fall. If he hadn't known any better, he'd say he was Tonks' very own son.

"What do you want?" He growled. Romulus didn't mean to sound disgraceful, but he was hurt. He hoped he didn't hurt her feelings in any way. It wasn't only his relationship with her Romulus was worried about, but it was also his father's relationship with Tonks. Even though he did all he could do to find work, Remus was poor. Tonks hating Remus would result in his father being on the streets again. It was very likely and possibly anticipated that Remus would live with Romulus and his Uncle Harris if that ever were to happen, but Romulus was nearly certain that that relationship wouldn't last. They had conflicting personalities, for one. Uncle Harris was kind, yes, but he was also very jolly. He could also be quite annoying. Remus, on the other hand, was mellow and kept to himself, just like Romulus. Uncle Harris would always be asking questions and attempting to do ridiculous things and Romulus predicted that Remus would get fed up after a while. Romulus himself was already growing a bit weary of his Uncle. The poor man only tried his best to please Romulus, but learning of his father had changed Romulus' views on his Uncle. This was one reason Romulus had stayed at his father's much more frequently. In addition, Remus and Uncle Harris were separate in their beings. Remus was a wizard and Uncle Harris was a Muggle. No matter what, it just wouldn't work out.

Tonks frowned. "Sorry for busting your chops, mate," she joked.

"It's okay," Romulus said, grimacing as he stood once more. He threw on his jacket and began to make his bed. His whole body ached, but Romulus had grown into a certain need to not act foolish in front of females. Half of them would reject him if they knew what he was, Romulus' father had said. Why not try to please the other half?

"Fancy a cuppa," Tonks asked.

Romulus shook his head. "No thanks. I should be leaving anyways. Holiday break is almost over. Uncle Harris expects me to spend the rest of Christmas break with him and Ren." Ren was Romulus' elder brother. Ren had a different father than Romulus, and naturally, he felt the same strain on their relationship that Romulus had felt when had passed.

"You sure?"

"Yes, Tonks." Romulus said as he snatched a few magazines and a chocolate frog off the floor.

Tonks nodded, seemingly accepting the fact that Romulus was indeed leaving. He was just like his father. Changing his mind was hard to do when he had his heart set on something. And Tonks must have not been trying to see through Romulus' veil of a soul today. His heart wasn't set on leaving his father. Especially when he was ill.

Tonks turned to leave but smiled at Romulus before she did. "You should check on Professor Lupin before you leave. He wouldn't let me go near him, but I expect he'll let you."

She began walking away. Romulus cleared his throat. "Why don't you just call him D-... Nevermind," Romulus stopped. He grinned hysterically. "I'll see to it that he gets a visit from his favorite mentee."

Tonks descended the stairs and Romulus was sure he'd heard her call him crazy. At least that instead of the Dad part. Even though Romulus had visited Tonks and his father a few times before, she still hadn't caught a whiff of the lie that was boiling right under her nose. Romulus' father was somehow ashamed of Romulus, to the point that he couldn't even tell his girlfriend about him. Ever since a month ago, Romulus had been known as Romy, Remus' mentor from the Young Werewolves Association. A month ago, Romulus wouldn't have believed it unless he'd seen it with his own eyes. As brilliant of a witch as she was, Tonks still hadn't figured out that there could be no such thing as the YWA, for the Ministry, where she worked, would have shut it down. Romulus had taken her for more of a clever one, yet as long as their cover wasn't blown, he was okay with her being a sort of pushover.

Romulus surveyed his small room one last time in vain. He knew there were no clothes on the floor, no smudges in the bed sheets. He just wanted one last glimpse. Of love. Of care. Of Dad. He eyed the overly sized bean bag chair that was his bed. He'd snagged it from Uncle's attic. The wooden floors that creaked, the pallid walls that were cracked. Every crack, every line, Romulus remembered. He was a werewolf, so it was fairly easy and accomplishable without wasting much energy.

Sighing, Romulus evacuated the room and sprinted down the hall. He just had the need to. It hurt like bloody hell all right, but it was nothing compared to what Remus was feeling. The pain served as a warning of what was to come. He slowed in front of his Dad's room and opened the maple door slowly. He only left a crack as to see the older man. Just from a glimpse, Romulus knew his father had deeper, darker cuts than two times his own. To what power he didn't know. Romulus could clearly see an open, bleeding gash on his father's cheek. And just like that, he decided to leave without saying farewell.

He wasn't scared and it wasn't that he didn't want to disturb his father. Romulus didn't visit his father because he didn't feel emotionally ready. Ready to realize that someone cared enough to assist him in their own time of need. Ready to accept love-his father.

Romulus raced into Tonks' room and to her bedroom window. He had to jump. She couldn't see him leave. Tonks was persuasive, and even if Romulus wanted to, he couldn't lie to Tonks. He would have to tell her he didn't check on Remus.

Romulus took a deep breath and opened the window. It was drizzling here and there outside, or so it appeared to be. With wizards one could never tell. He straddled the sill and hopped out, easy as pie. The second floor of Tonks' home was barely four feet from the ground.

He dusted his loafers off and ran to the closet window. His owl, Ronald, was still sitting there, immobile. "Ronald," he called. "Let's go home!"

The large owl swept down onto his master's shoulder. Ronald pecked at Romulus' shirt for a moment, then stopped. Romulus ran a hand through his feathers and whispered something into Ronald's ear. It was hard to hear with the rain getting heavier.

In an instant, they were standing in front of a yellow brick mansion. A medium sized pool was visible from the outside, and an immense tree house rested on the lawn. The marble brown door creaked open slowly and a boy with dirty blond hair walked out. His eyes were brown and his resolve was seemingly strong. The boy ran at Romulus and gave him a huge hug.

"Missed you bro," Ren said. Ren attended a different school across the country, for what reason Romulus did not know why. Perhaps it was because Uncle Harris was starting to annoy Ren too? Romulus suspected he'd been doing the same thing, with spending all those weekends with his father and Tonks.

"Same here," Romulus said dryly.

Ren surveyed him. "You look thin as a twig! Come inside!" Ren rushed off. He'd always been the anxious type as a child. Like that time when he wanted a picture with the Muggle Santa Clause, and he hopped right into the man's lap instead of waiting in line. He'd actually apparated, but the Muggles hadn't exactly figured that out.

"Little excited don't you think?" Romulus asked Ronald. He wasn't looking for a response. He was looking for someone who would listen, and that person was Ronald. Romulus studied the house once more from the outside. He began walking. "Dream home isn't it," he said. "But the real dream has-Ronald!"

The owl had flown away and plotted himself on top of a leaf. Romulus snorted and rolled his eyes.

Inside, Romulus discussed several topics with Ren in his room. Uncle Harris had been too busy to meet him, or so the maid had said.

Romulus' room was big, yet empty. Sure, there were posters on the wall and suitable sheets on the bed, but there was no love placed into it. No love was placed into the project. Tonks and Remus had spent days working on Romulus' room, and so had Uncle Harris' workers. The only difference had been that someone Romulus actually cared for had worked on his room in Tonks' flat. Romulus didn't detest his Uncle's workers at all, but he didn't personally know or love them.

The boys discussed their plans for the resume of the school year and talked about what they'd done before visiting Harris. It turned out that Ren had spent the first weeks with his girlfriend and her family in Latvia. Ren hadn't been all too surprised to figure out that Romulus had spent his weeks with his father. For about two hours, they discussed, and just caught up with each other. After that, one of Uncle Harris' butlers invited them to dinner. The boys shared one last skeptical, yet knowing look before entering the dining hall.

Unlike every other room, the dining hall wasn't big. It was humongous. Long tables with about twelve attached chairs each lined the walls. One diminutive table stood in the center, with one chair on each of the four sides. Photographs of Uncle Harris, his mother Thedna, and his brother Gilderoy were pasted onto the ceiling. Several servants wearing white stood off to the side with trays in their hands. As Ren and Romulus sat at the small table, the servants eyed them suspiciously. Uncle Harris was sitting in a golden chair across from Romulus, and next to him sat a man with golden hair. The man wore a mischievous smile and piercing blue eyes. He studied the boys with distaste despite his smirk.

Uncle Harris, a bulky man with a Santa sized stomach, bowed to Ren and Romulus and said, "Hello children. This is Mr. Joni. Hes a magical prodigy just like you two."

"And why is he here?" Ren barked. Ren had never liked new arrivals.

"He'll...look after you at school," Uncle Harris said, "for he is an animagus. No one will notice him on Hogwarts grounds. You'll both take him as an owl."

Ren growled. "Hogwarts? What about Rocky Mountain?" RMI, or Rocky Mountain, was the school Ren attended in America. He seemed to love it there.

Uncle Harris bowed his head. "You will both go to Hogwarts now. I don't trust one of you being halfway across the country for months upon months."

Ren stood and pushed the table. "What?" He stormed out of the room. "I hate you!"

Mr. Joni raised an eyebrow. "A little...early to be excused from dinner," he drawled.

Romulus eyed him suspiciously an turned to his Uncle. "I'll check on Ren. Great job man." Romulus ran up the stairs wearily.

**A/N**

**Yeah, not so much feeling inspirational**


End file.
